Microwave radiation is a known mechanism for delivering energy to an object. The ability of microwave energy to penetrate and heat an object in a rapid and effective manner has proven advantageous in many chemical and industrial processes. Because of its ability to quickly and thoroughly heat an article, microwave energy has been employed in heating processes wherein the rapid achievement of a prescribed minimum temperature is desired, such as, for example, pasteurization and/or sterilization processes. Further, because microwave energy is generally non-invasive, microwave heating may be particularly useful for heating dielectrically sensitive materials, such as food and pharmaceuticals. However, to date, the complexities and nuances of safely and effectively applying microwave energy, especially on a commercial scale, have severely limited its application in several types of industrial processes.
When microwave energy is applied to the articles as the articles are passed through a liquid-filled, pressurized microwave chamber, the articles may be secured into a carrier to hold the articles in place during heating. In order to achieve desirable commercial throughput, a single microwave system may need a plurality of individual carriers, in order to process the articles in a continuous manner while having sufficient time to load and unload the carriers. Further, if the carriers are designed to process articles of a given size and shape, microwave systems may need several different types of carriers in order to process a wide variety of articles. However, this can greatly increase the operating expenses associated with the system, and may reduce production efficiency by requiring massive change outs of carriers in order to different types of articles.
Thus, a need exists for an efficient, cost effective industrial-scale microwave heating system capable of achieving consistent results with a wide variety of articles having different sizes and/or shapes. Advantageously, such a system would be easy to operate, while minimizing capital expenses and maximizing throughput.